Following Paula Abdul’s Twitter announcement, and Fox’s confirmation, on Tuesday night that the American Idol judge will not return for the show’s ninth season, here’s what people are saying:
Randy Jackson: “I am shocked. Paula is a dear friend and will be missed.”
Ryan Seacrest (via Twitter): “Idol and the cast have grown with each other over the last 8 seasons. I can’t imagine the panel without Paula. She’s a star @ a great friend.”
Blake Lewis (Idol season 6 runner-up): “Paula leaving American Idol is like a honeycomb without the honey. She brought a sweetness to the AI that no one can replace. She will be forever our girl.”
Brooke White (season 7 finalist): “I honestly didn’t think she was going to leave Idol. When I saw her Tweet, I said ‘Wow!’…Sitting on the edge of that stage, you feel pretty vulnerable out there. And when you’re getting chewed up, any sort of relief is nice. Paula was that little ray of hope. She cushioned the blows a little bit. Not everyone at home liked that, but I can speak as someone who did sit at the edge of that stage, and to have someone who was concerned and caring helped.”
Jim Verraros (season 1 finalist): “She helped build [the show] from the ground up….I will never forget what she said: ‘Jim, you may not have won the gold medal, silver or even bronze. But you’re an Olympian. Remember that and how far you’ve come.’ For that alone, I will always have nothing but the utmost love and respect for her.”
Danny Gokey (season 8 finalist) via Twitter: “I’m really sad 2 see Paula Abdul not coming back 2 idol. She was the judge with the biggest heart! She really will be missed”
Kris Allen (season 8 winner) via Twitter: “We love you! Glad I was able to be a part of your last season on the show. You showed us so much love.”
Keep checking back at this URL for further industry reaction.
(Reporting by Michael Slezak, Tim Stack, and Adam B. Vary)
More on Paula Abdul’s Idol exit:
Fox confirms Paula Abdul leaving ‘American Idol’
Comments (1-15) of 200 Add your comment
Paula’s leaving….. and I am too. Goodbye Idol. It’s been great. But without Paula it’s nothing.
AMEN
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHA. Simon’s the whole show. There wouldn’t be one w/o him…and you will all still watch
Haha yeah don’t even start, you’ll all be sitting in front of your tv’s counting down in January
No, I will not be watching. I barely made it through Kara last season. With her as the only woman on the panel it will be unbearable. Anyway, after 8.. or is is 9? seasons, Idol really doesn’t have anything more to say. Bye Bye.
The show has been on a downward spiral with Paula. It sure isn’t going to fail just because she leaves. It is going to fail because the producers won’t listen to the fans. Too many judges and too much talking equals failure. And Paula certainly talked too much.
Yep, agreed. She’s the heart, and word has it, you’ve gotta have it… Paula will be missed greatly. Watch and see… or better yet, DON’T!
…and yet I’m IN DA HOUSE, dawg! I still get to recycle the same damn half-dozen comments for another year.
you’ll still watch
you’ll never give it up!
I couldn’t agree more. A big reason AI is #1 is Paula, with her gone they are going to see a significant drop in #s
AI WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN WITHOUT PAULA. I DON’T CARE IF SHE GETS HIGH SOMETIMES. TRUTH IS FOX WASN’T FAIR TO HER. SO, BYE BYE AMERICAN IDOL FOR ME.
I’ve already decided not to watch this next season. Last season was pretty unbearable and it’s so obvious the show is going downhill. I think the loss of Paula will just continue the slide faster. I think many people may watch at the begining to see what it’s like without her, but then the number will go drastically down hill.
I agree, goodbye American Idol.I will watch the show that Paula will
judge on, if she accepts the offer
by the other show I heard about on Entertainment Tonight.
Simon is not the show. Simon, Paula, Randy and Seacrest were a team. To get a taste of what its like without Paula play the playstation American Idol. Paulas not in the first one. It’s a dud. The second game has Paula and is more fun. If they thought kara or whatever her name is was going to replace Paula, not true. She’s just like having 2 Simons. The doublemint twin, lol. 2 very critical people. It might still go on, but it just lost this viewer.
I totally agree. We already disliked Kara, and were only hanging on by a thread this season, but after this…well forget about it AI.
Does Ryan Seacrest really think that @ is the same thing as &?
Ry’s too cool for &
LOL, I was thinking the same thing!
You beat me to it!
Please take Ryan with you!
yes i agree. someone please take Seacrest somewhere, to his magical planet of @’s.
I think it’s a mistake. She was the Heart of the show. I like Kara, but she’s no Paula.
+1 to Brigid.
I guess I’m the only one happy about this. I want the judges to critique the singer’s talent, not their wardrobe, nor their “aura and spirit”.
Good riddance…
You’re not alone. I don’t dislike Paula, but it had gotten to the point where I would fast-forward through her “critiques” because they were so irritatingly useless.
Then Randy needs to leave too! Actually, then they all need to leave, because the comments never have to do with singing. At least on SYTYCD, no matter how crazy the judges are, they usually give specific advice on improving technique. That’s what we need on Idol.
Except this past season, her critiques surpassed the other three judges often. Simon just started showing that he was too old to know current music, Kara was just weird with her comments (and gratingly inaccurate), and Randy was just useless (except for a few moments). Plus Randy and Kara often just said the same thing. You felt like Paula was the only one that really cared what became of the contestants. She was the HEART of the show. I think people are going to miss her next season. The only thing good about this is that maybe with the distraction (Paula) gone, Simon will start paying more attention to the singers.
TO SAXMAN & DT: HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THE MEANING OF “ENCOURAGEMENT?” THAT’S WHAT PAULA BROUGHT TO THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE~SINGING BEFORE MILLIONS~FOR 8 YEARS! SHE GAVE THEM THE COURAGE TO NEVER GIVE UP EVEN DURING THEIR MOST DOWN & OUT MOMENTS! AI WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WITHOUT PAULA & DEEP DOWN, EVEN PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT AI FANS KNOW THAT! SHE WILL BE VERY MISSED & WHAT A MESS THE SHOW WILL BE WITHOUT HER! SHE TRULY CARED FOR EVERY CONTESTANT & THE CONTESTANTS FROM THE PREVIOUS SEASONS WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HER FOR THAT! GOD BLESS YOU PAULA & I AM STILL PRAYING FOR A DIFFERENT OUTCOME!
Count me as one who’s not watching Idol too. As Brooke and others have said, she’s the one who tempered the critiques and gave a little hope in the midst of despair. Don’t like Kara, Randy was getting on my last nerve, tolerated Simon; but with no Paula, no AI for me. I’ll support “NCIS” and “NCIS LA”. LL Cool J, now that’s what I’m talking about!!!!!
HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THE MEANING OF “ENCOURAGEMENT?” THAT’S WHAT PAULA BROUGHT TO THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE~SINGING BEFORE MILLIONS~FOR 8 YEARS! SHE GAVE THEM THE COURAGE TO NEVER GIVE UP EVEN DURING THEIR MOST DOWN & OUT MOMENTS! AI WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WITHOUT PAULA & DEEP DOWN, EVEN PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT AI FANS KNOW THAT! SHE WILL BE VERY MISSED & WHAT A MESS THE SHOW WILL BE WITHOUT HER! SHE TRULY CARED FOR EVERY CONTESTANT & THE CONTESTANTS FROM THE PREVIOUS SEASONS WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HER FOR THAT! GOD BLESS YOU PAULA & I AM STILL PRAYING FOR A DIFFERENT OUTCOME!
TO SHARB~IAPOLOGIZE~THIS WAS INTENDED TO BE A REPLY TO THE COMMENT MADE BY SAXMAN SAYING “GOOD RIDANCE!” I AM VERY SORRY & NOT SURE HOW I MADE THIS MISTAKE! AGAIN, I TRULY APOLOGIZE!
I’m not sure I’m going to be back for next season either. She may have been loopy, but she was the heart of the show. It’s nice hearing from the contestants that they really did need that little spoonful of sugar to help make Simon’s medicine go down. Here’s hoping she shows up on SYTYCD now.
As goofy as she is, she is part of the show. And Kara . . ., not so much.
Agreed. And that is really it in a nutshell. As viewers we rely on Randy to say Dawg 100 times per show, Simon to give an actual critique sometimes rather nastily and Paula to be sweet and loopy. We expect that Paula and Simon will be sparring back and forth. Kara, in my opinion, messed up the formula last season and brought really nothing. She seemed to just spout whatever Randy said without all the “dawgs”. Despite what some may say now, Paula is going to be sorely missed on AI.
This is great news. Paula’s comments would often make me cringe.
I hate to say it but you kind of like watching a train wreck or perhaps the chance to watch one. You never knew with Paula.
Beginning of the end…
Exactly.
Sorry but the beginning started before now. Last year (With Paula) had the lowest ratings of every year of Idol’s existence except the first year. Look at the numbers. Your Paula is part of the failure not the success.
I think it’s a mistake to let Paula go. I don’t like Kara and I’m not sure I’ll be watching this year. We’ll see how the ratings go after Paula. Not alot of loyalty given her by the producers after all the years she’s been on.
“Idol” doesn’t need Ryan, Randy, or Kara. It only needs Simon and Paula. To give Ryan $15 million a year and to lowball Paula makes no sense.
I tune Ryan out no matter where he shows up. He is so full of himself. He creeps me out. Paula was the best cheerleader a contestant could have. Sometimes I got a little embarrassed for her, but still glad she was there. By the way, I am in my 50’s.
I like that idea. Just Simon and Paula is truly enough. The good cop and the bad cop. Simon’s weakness is his inability to recognize current music (still stuck in Whitney, Celine, and Mariah era) and Paula seems to be the only one in that panel that can do that.
I DO, TOO. ALL AI NEEDS ARE PAULA AND SIMON. BY THE WAY, WHAT DOES SEACREST DO THAT HE GETS THAT MUCH MONEY? AI NEEDS ONLY SIMON AND PAULA & THE REST CAN JUST DISAPPEAR. AI PRODUCERS MADE A BIG ON THIS ONE. BIG MISTAKE…
Right. Lets keep the two most biased judges that picked the top two before last year’s show hardly started. What kind of show is that. Might as well not vote.
Absolutely terrible. They don’t have the money for Paula because of Kara. I like Kara a little but Paula made the show. Ratings will drop.